A Systematic Review and Analysis of Brucella Endocarditis Cases.

Endocarditis is the most common cause of death from brucellosis. The information used to guide the management of cases with Brucella endocarditis has relied on case reports/series. Risk factors related to death and other adverse outcomes in patients with Brucella endocarditis were identified by an individual-patient data analysis of all reported Brucella endocarditis cases in the literature.

COVID-19: An Update on Epidemiology, Prevention and Treatment, September-2023.

After a downward trend for more than 12 months, the incidence of COVID-19 has increased in the last months. Although COVID-19 is not as frequent as in the first years of the pandemic, case numbers are still very high, and it causes a significant number of deaths. COVID-19 is not seen with a predictable frequency, at least two times more deadly than the flu, continues as an epidemic, and has not reached the endemic level yet.

The challenges in the monitoring of infectious diseases after the earthquake in Türkiye in 2023.

After the devastating earthquake in Türkiye and Syria in February, 2023, the long-term failure to meet the need for shelter, unfavourable living conditions in tent settlements, poor access to clean drinking water, water suitable for personal hygiene, and sanitary facilities, as well as interruptions in provision of primary health-care services, have emerged as the most important risk factors contributing to the spread of infectious diseases. 3 months after the earthquake, most of these problems persist in Türkiye. Data on the control of infectious diseases are scarce according to the reports prepared by medical specialist associations based on observations of health-care providers working in the region and statements made by the local health authorities.

Long-term effects of COVID-19 on lungs and the clinical relevance: a 6-month prospective cohort study.

We aimed to explore the prevalence of prolonged symptoms, pulmonary impairments and residual disease on chest tomography (CT) in COVID-19 patients at 6 months after acute illness. In this prospective, single-center study, hospitalized patients with radiologically and laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were included. A high proportion of the 116 patients reported persistent symptoms (n = 54; 46.

Criteria for Hyperinflammation Developing in COVID-19: Analysis of 2 Cohorts From Different Periods of the Pandemic.

Objective: Hyperinflammation (HI) that develops in week 2 of COVID-19 contributes to a worse outcome. Because week 2 laboratory findings can be relatively mild, the available criteria for classification of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis or macrophage activation syndrome are not helpful.

Methods: Our study included a discovery cohort of patients from Turkey with symptomatic COVID-19 who were followed up while hospitalized during the initial wave and a replication cohort of hospitalized patients from a later period, all of whom required oxygen support and received glucocorticoids.

activities of antibiotic combinations against mature biofilms of ventilator-associated pneumonia isolates.

The authors aimed to determine the efficacy of frequently used antibiotics, alone or in combination, against biofilms of ventilator-associated pneumonia isolates. The authors determined the MICs, minimum biofilm inhibitory concentrations and minimum biofilm eradication concentrations of meropenem, ciprofloxacin and colistin as well as their combinations against planktonic forms and biofilms of , and clinical isolates. Generally, the minimum biofilm inhibitory concentrations and minimum biofilm eradication concentrations of the antibiotics were 1000-fold higher than their MICs, and synergy was provided by different concentrations of meropenem-colistin and meropenem-ciprofloxacin combinations with checkerboard and time-kill curve methods.

Dipyridamole does not have any additive effect on the prevention of COVID-19 coagulopathy.

Objective: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus 2 (SaRS-Cov-2) associated respiratory disease (COVID-19), announced as a pandemic, is a multisystem syndrome. SARS-CoV-2 directly infects and damages vascular endothelial cells, which leads to microvascular dysfunction and promotes a procoagulant state. Dipyridamole (DP) acts as a reversible phosphodiesterase inhibitor and is used mainly as an antiplatelet agent.

Intrathecal Colistin Induced Chemical Meningitis in a Case of Multi-Drug Resistant Meningitis.

The possibility of encountering multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria is higher in nosocomial meningitis. These bacteria are clinically important because of their higher mortality rate, and colistin is almost the only treatment option in resistant strains. However, intrathecal administration of colistin can result in chemical meningitis.

[A Case of Chronic Q Fever Endocarditis Mimicking Lymphoproliferative Disorders].

Q fever is a zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii. In this report, a case of chronic Q fever endocarditis with pancytopenia and hypergammaglobulinemia mimicking a lymphoproliferative disease was presented. A 39-years-old male living in Çatalca and whose family is engaged in animal husbandry admitted with the complaints of weakness and fatigue.

An update of anti-viral treatment of COVID-19.

Background/aim: Currently there is not an effective antiviral treatment for COVID-19, but a large number of drugs have been evaluated since the beginning of the pandemic, and many of them have been used for the treatment of COVID-19 despite the preliminary or conflicting results of the clinical trials. We aimed to review and summarize all of the current knowledge on the antivirals for COVID-19

Results: There are 2 main drug groups for SARS-CoV-2: agents that target proteins or RNA of the virus or interfere with proteins or biological processes in the host that support the virus. The main drug groups include inhibitors of viral entry into the human cell (convalescent plasma, monoclonal antibodies, nanobodies, mini proteins, human soluble ACE-2, camostat, dutasteride, proxalutamide, bromhexin, hydroxychloroquine, umifenovir nitazoxanid, niclosamide, lactoferrin), inhibitors of viral proteases (lopinavir/ritonavir, PF-07321332, PF-07304814, GC376), inhibitors of viral RNA (remdesivir, favipiravir, molnupiravir, AT-527, merimepodib, PTC299), inhibitors of host proteins supporting virus (plitidepsin, fluvoxamine, ivermectin), and agents supporting host natural immunity (Interferons).

National Early Warning Score 2 and laboratory predictors correlate with clinical deterioration in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

We aimed to determine the prognostic values of the National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) and laboratory parameters during the first week of COVID-19. All adult patients who were hospitalized for confirmed COVID-19 between 11 March and 11 May 2020 were retrospectively included. Overall, 611 patients were included.

Efficacy and safety of an inactivated whole-virion SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (CoronaVac): interim results of a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial in Turkey.

Background: CoronaVac, an inactivated whole-virion SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, has been shown to be well tolerated with a good safety profile in individuals aged 18 years and older in phase 1/2 trials, and provided a good humoral response against SARS-CoV-2. We present the interim efficacy and safety results of a phase 3 clinical trial of CoronaVac in Turkey.

Methods: This was a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial.

Initial complete blood count score and predicting disease progression in COVID-19 patients.

Introduction: Coronavirus has caused a pandemic since it was first detected in Wuhan in December 2019. The mortality rate is high in moderate and severe cases. Our study aimed to screen the CBC parameters as a useful predictive factor for COVID-19 resulting in critical illness.

The effect of tocilizumab, anakinra and prednisolone on antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with COVID-19: A prospective cohort study with multivariate analysis of factors affecting the antibody response.

Objectives: Disease severity, previous medications and immunosuppressive agents could affect the antibody response against SARS-CoV-2. This study aimed to analyze variables affecting the humoral response to SARS-CoV-2.

Methods: This prospective cohort study included adult patients who recovered from COVID-19 and were admitted to a COVID-19 follow-up unit.

Antiviral treatment of COVID-19.

Currently, there is not any specific effective antiviral treatment for COVID-19. Although most of the COVID-19 patients have mild or moderate courses, up to 5%–10% can have severe, potentially life threatening course, there is an urgent need for effective drugs. Optimized supportive care remains the mainstay of therapy.

Q fever endocarditis: is it always subacute or chronic?

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii, an obligate intracellular bacterium, which cannot be grown using routine blood culture methods. Although C. burnetii is reported to be the causative agent in approximately 50% of blood culture-negative infective endocarditis cases in developed countries, the incidence in Turkey is yet to be defined.

[First Isolation of Coxiella burnetii in Turkey from a Patient with Endocarditis; Antigen Production and Phase Change Study].

Coxiella burnetii is the causative agent of Q fever, a zoonotic infection. The bacteria is a gram-negative, pleomorphic, coccobacilli and capable to survive and proliferate within the host cell's phagolysosome. There are two morphological cell types of C.

Predictors of fatality in influenza A virus subtype infections among inpatients in the 2015-2016 season.

Background: Infection with the influenza A virus can cause severe disease and mortality. The effect of the different subtypes of influenza on morbidity and mortality is not yet known in Turkey. The aim of this study was to describe the predictors of fatality related to influenza A infection among hospitalized patients in Istanbul during the 2015-2016 influenza season, and to detail the differences between infections caused by H3N2 and H1N1.

Hematologic Adverse Effects of Prolonged Piperacillin-Tazobactam Use in Adults.

Objective: We aimed to find the incidence and risk factors of hematologic adverse effects of piperacillin-tazobactam (TZP).

Materials And Methods: Adult patients who used TZP for more than 10 days were included in the study.

Results: The incidence of leukopenia, neutropenia, and eosinophilia in 110 TZP therapy episodes was found to be 16.